DYK: Aadhaar must to open provident fund account

If you are joining your first job or are changing jobs and opting for a new employees’ provident fund account on or after 1 March 2013, you would need your Aadhaar number. In other words,

Aadhaar card will be part of the know-your-client (KYC) norms for opening a PF account. Even for existing members, the Aadhaar number will have to be provided in a time-bound manner.

What should you do if you don’t have aadhaar yet?

New employees: In case a new employee does not have the Aadhaar number, she/he can provide the enrolment identification number. This enrolment identification would be converted into the Aadhaar number later on.

In case you don’t get the Aadhaar card before 1 March, but have enrolled for one, you can give the enrolment identification number to your employer.

Existing employees: If you are already an employee in the organized sector, the deadline for providing Aadhaar is 30 June.

As of now there is no clarity on the deadline for those who want to transfer their PF account from their old organization to the new one.

Pensioners: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) will take the Aadhaar number from the bank you withdraw your pension from. However, you can also directly submit it in the EPFO office.

How to get an aadhaar number?

You will have to visit any Aadhaar enrolment centre to obtain this card with a proof of identity and a proof of address. You can find your nearest centre on the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) website (http://tinyurl.com/bypne9w). For those who don’t have access to any of the centres mentioned in the website, UIDAI officials will organize camps for those areas that are not easily accessible and it will be advertised on radios, televisions and newspapers. As of now, the government is accepting 18 types of proof of identity and 33 types of proof of address documents. You can see the list at http://tinyurl.com/b54zsoh.

Once you go to an enrolment centre, the person in charge will ask you to fill a form, which will require details such as your age and permanent account number. Once the form is filled, your eye biometric test, finger prints and photo will be taken.

You will get an acknowledgment slip with a temporary enrolment number and other details captured during enrolment immediately. However, it takes time to get the actual card. The waiting period is normally 60-90 days; sometimes it may take even longer.